Jean Cooney Named Director of Times Square Arts -ARTnews

In a big move in the world of public art, Jean Cooney, the current deputy director of Creative Time in New York, has been appointed director of the Times Square Arts, an organization that places artworks throughout one of Manhattan’s most-visited destinations.

Cooney had been with Creative Time for seven years and served in a variety of positions there, including project manager and director of public projects. She worked on some of the group’s most memorable recent projects, among them Kara Walker’s monumental sugar sculpture for the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn and a Nick Cave performance held at Grand Central.

“I am thrilled to take on the unique opportunity of presenting public art in one of New York City’s most iconic, history-rich, kinetic, and complicated spaces with Times Square Arts,” Cooney said in a statement. “I could not imagine a more exciting platform than Times Square for public interventions, civic engagement, and for artists to dream big, be playful, and dig into the most pressing issues of our ever-evolving cultural moment.”